Palagis Ice
Cream Company has been street vending in the Blackstone Valley area for over
100 years.

In 1896,
Peter Palagi, an immigrant from Italy, started selling ice cream Popsicles
from a standstill cart. After a couple of summers, Peter felt the need to
change the location of his business, thus, he put the cart on a wagon and
the wagon was pulled by a horse.

With the
horse and wagon, Peter had the ability to constantly change locations during
the day.

Waiting for
the ice cream wagon to come by your house became a way of life and part of
growing up in Pawtucket and the Blackstone Valley.

While
running and trying to build the business, Peter was also raising a family.
All his sons started working in the business as soon as they were old enough
to do so. Peter Jr. tells the story of when he was nine years old and his
father sent him out to sell ice cream on the wagon. His father told him to
get on the wagon and trust the horse for he will show him the route. Peter
Jr. eventually took over the business. This horse and wagons ran for
approximately 30 years.

By 1930,
with the automobile becoming more popular, Palagis Ice Cream Co. made a move
to upgrade its equipment and went from horse and wagon to Model-A Fords.

Summer after summer, this Model-A Fords ice cream wagons,
became a fixture in many aspects of American life growing up in the
Blackstone Valley. They were there when the children were released from
school, they were there at the workplace when workers would have their lunch
breaks, they were there at the little league games, at the fourth of July
parade, at the summer festivals, and when you were at home just winding down
at the end of your day.

These model-A fords ran for approximately 50 years.

They were
replaced by the more modern step vans. The oldest one, which was part of our
fleet, was a 1963 Ford step van/ice cream truck. This truck was on the road,
summer after summer, for more than 35 years in the Woodlawn section of
Pawtucket.

There was
also a 1972 International step van/ice cream truck that was working in
Cumberland R.I. for over 30 years. The rest of the fleet include GMCs and
Chevrolets models years mid 90's to early 2000's